All Was Well
by EdElricFan1001
Summary: Sequel to 'Closer Than We Thought'. The answer to the mystery of who attacked Ed, and why they did it. Chapter story, No pairings yet, Undecided on how long it will be.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist, although I do own a milkshake at the moment (It won't last long).**_

_**All Was Well:**_

_**Previously on 'Closer Than We Thought':**_

After what felt like an eternity the door opened and the nurse walked out, dying her hands on a towel. Quick as lightening Mustang and Al were in front of her with worried looks on their faces, trying to see into the room.

"He'll make it. He lost quite a bit of blood and I have no idea how he survived as long as he did, but he'll make a full recovery. Would you like to see him now? I think he might be waking up and I would hate for him to wake up and not have his friends with him." They nodded and she gave them a knowing smile, leading them into the room.

Ed was lying on a white bed with a mask over his face. He took long deep breaths, but he was breathing. The white bandages on his shoulder already had a bit of blood soaking through them. Al ran up to the bedside and got down on his knees, hands on the bedspread.

"Brother?" Ed's eyes flickered and he tilted his head over to look at Al.

"Hey there Al." Ed said weakly, a small smile on his face.

"Hey Fullmetal."

"Hi Colonel."

He was alive. He was going to be okay, make a full recovery. But who had attacked him? For now Roy would not worry about that. For now, all was well.

* * *

Ed took a deep gasp of pain as he tried to sit up in the infirmary bed. It had been three days since he had been attacked and he was trying to sit up for the first time in a while. Al and Roy had not left his side at all since he had been brought in, and, at the moment, Ed was thankful. He had woken up in a daze, and still did not remember all that had happened that day; he had been told that he was lucky to be alive.

"Brother, are you sure that you want to sit up? You don't have to, you know that right?" Al asked, looking worried even though he had no facial features to show it. Ed put on a strong face; despite the fact he was in immense pain.

"I already told you, Al, I'm fine. It's just a stomachache." Ed tried to prove his point by sitting up completely, only to give himself away by grimacing. Al pretend not to notice as he put a pillow behind Ed's back to help support him. "Did you call Winry?"

"Yes I did, she said that she'd be here today. In fact she should be at the train station by now, I just hope that Havoc will be there to pick her up on time." Ed nodded, Al had called Winry a few days ago to tell her what had happened and to ask her to come to East city and repair Ed's automail and port. She had asked to talk to Ed, but at the time he was in no shape for it, plus the fact that Ed wouldn't have appreciated having his ears yelled off.

"You know, Ed, you don't have to have the automail surgery again. You can quit the military and we can go back home with Winry…" Al started. He had been thinking this over ever since Ed had been brought in. He always put himself in too much danger and Al knew how much stress it caused him.

"I have to, Al. How will I be able to look for the Philosopher's Stone if I don't?"

"That's the point. I don't want you to look for it anymore it causes too much pain. I don't want you hurt anymore, brother." Al said looking down at the floor. Ed gave him a sympathetic smile.

"I have to, Al. I made you a promise, and even if you don't want me to I will keep searching for it. I owe you too much not to."

"So there's no way to change your mind?"

"Sorry Al. There isn't a way to break this promise." Al nodded.

"Winry should be arriving any time now. I'll go meet her and show her the way. I'll try and soften her up for you." Ed smiled.

"Thanks, Al." Al nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door, leaving Ed along for the first time in the past three days. Ed sighed. Al had yet to ask him who or rather what had done this to him. In fact, Ed didn't really know himself. All he could remember was a large black form coming at him and then… darkness. Hughes had come to visit a few times, but he had yet to ask any questions about what had happened. Ed could only guess that the military was giving him some time to recover before asking him about it. Ed jumped at the soft knock at the door.

"Come in."

The door burst open and with it a flurry of blonde hair.

* * *

_**A/N: I know it's not very long, but then again, it does explain a bit. I would like to thank the 25 people who reviewed the first story. If you want the next chapter of this one though, I would very much like to have someone review 'One In A Million'. I said I wasn't going to update anything until I got a review on it, and I'm keeping my word this time. Thanks for all the reviews ahead of time and I hope that you enjoy it!**_

_**EdElricFan1001**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: The only thing I own is the story line for 'All Was Well'.**_

_**All Was Well**_

_**Chapter 2**_

_Last Time:_

"Winry should be arriving any time now. I'll go meet her and show her the way. I'll try and soften her up for you." Ed smiled.

"Thanks, Al." Al nodded and walked out of the room, closing the door, leaving Ed along for the first time in the past three days. Ed sighed. Al had yet to ask him who or rather what had done this to him. In fact, Ed didn't really know himself. All he could remember was a large black form coming at him and then… darkness. Hughes had come to visit a few times, but he had yet to ask any questions about what had happened. Ed could only guess that the military was giving him some time to recover before asking him about it. Ed jumped at the soft knock at the door.

"Come in."

The door burst open and with it a flurry of blonde hair.

* * *

Ed's stomach hurt… bad. It didn't help that Winry had just shot through the door and had given him a hug causing more bad than good. The wrench that collided with his skull moments didn't do much for him either.

"Edward! What did you do to yourself this time? Can't you go one week without hurting yourself?" Ed sighed and rubbed his pounding head.

"Hello to you too, Winry." Ed groaned slightly holding his stomach. Right now, he was in no mood for arguing. Winry's frown faded and her face was full of concern.

"Ed. What did you do to yourself this time?" Ed looked up at her.

"I actually didn't do anything this time. I was just coming back from to dry cleaners and got attacked. It's not like I wanted this to happen. I just have bad luck sometimes." Winry opened up her mouth again as Lt. Hawkeye walked into the room.

"Winry? The Colonel wants to see you. Can you spare a minute?" Winry nodded and walked over to Hawkeye. "Al, can you come too?" Al looked down at his brother and up at Hawkeye and then sighed, walking over to the door that was held open by Hawkeye and following Winry out. With a small smile at Ed, Riza shut the door and walked away, her boots clinking on the well-polished floor. Ed laid back and sighed. Until a knock came at the door. Wearily, and with a grimace, Ed sat up again.

"Come in." The door creaked open and Maes Hughes walked in with a smile on his face.

"Morning, Ed. Feeling any better?" Ed forced a smile through the clenching pain in his gut.

"Better than before, at least. What brings you here?" Hughes face softened as he looked down at Ed.

"You and Al are like sons to me. You think that I wouldn't be here for you? Roy would be her too for the same reason, but he's distracting Winry and Al so that you can get a little peace." Ed sighed.

"Thanks Lt. Col., that means a lot." Maes smiled and sat down in the chair beside Ed's bed.

"Unfortunately, I've also been sent here for another reason. Ed, I need you to tell me what exactly happened to you. Without that information there's not much that I can do to find the perp." Ed looked down at the blankets and took a deep breath.

"I can't remember too much of it… it's mostly a blur… but I came down the alleyway, I was running because of the hail, and I saw this shadow looming ahead of me. I stopped and looked up at and then everything became a blur."

"Did you notice any distinguishing characteristics about it?" Ed looked up at him.

"There was one thing."

* * *

**_A/N: Heck of a cliffhanger huh? I didn't want it to end this way but I figured that if I let out his characteristics then you guys would know who they were. So, I want you to start guessing who it is. The one who guess the closest will get… I don't know, I guess what you want, so guess!!_**

_**I want to thank everyone who reviewed:**_

_**TenshiElric, jenelric, Tragic Vanity, mustangfan29, edPod, Tears of Eternal Darkness, and Kaleigh-san!**_

_**You guy are awesome!!**_

_**BTW, I have added a new story in the Yu-Gi-OH! category called 'New Places, New Faces' it's a xover with HP if you want to read it.**_

_**I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and I hope to update soon(er)!!**_

_**Ciao!**_

_**EdElricFan1001**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Wait… nope. Own nothing.**_

_**All Was Well**_

_**Chapter 3**_

_Last Time:_

"Unfortunately, I've also been sent here for another reason. Ed, I need you to tell me what exactly happened to you. Without that information there's not much that I can do to find the perp." Ed looked down at the blankets and took a deep breath.

"I can't remember too much of it… it's mostly a blur… but I came down the alleyway, I was running because of the hail, and I saw this shadow looming ahead of me. I stopped and looked up at and then everything became a blur."

"Did you notice any distinguishing characteristics about it?" Ed looked up at him.

"There was one thing."

* * *

"Red eyes." Maes looked up at Ed face and noticed that his hair had covered his eyes.

"What?" 

"Red eyes. Whatever that thing was it had bright red eyes. I seem to also remember it having great strength and fast movements. I heard Mustang calling me and that's when it left and when everything went black. But I was pretty out of it, so I don't know how much is true." Ed looked over at Hughes who had a thoughtful look on his face.

"Now that you mention it… there are quite a few reports on people being attacked by something with red eyes. There have been only two survivors who said it attacked them and their companions. The odd thing is, it usually hunts people that are in groups. I'll have to do some more research on this before I can start the search though. We're still looking through the crime scene. We haven't even been able to find a fingerprint!"

"So whatever it is, it's through in cleaning up its mess, or it could just not have anything that would leave a fingerprint." Ed looked at what used to be his right arm. "Automail maybe?" Maes shook his head.

"I don't think so. The indents made on the pieces of your automail left behind show definite signs of being from flesh and blood hands, not automail. I'm not quite sure how we're supposed to find this guy." Ed nodded.

"When I get out of here, I'll be sure to hang around and help you. If there's anything I can do, that is." Maes gave Ed a sad smile. 

"Unfortunately, we can't do that. You're not allowed to be out of anyone's sight until we catch this guy. It's too dangerous and the Fuhrer doesn't want to 'lose such a valuable State Alchemist'." Maes said complete with air quotes. "Besides, by the time they let you out, we'll have hopefully have caught this guy. So you have no need to worry." Ed nodded slowly.

"If you say so."

"I do have one question for you Ed." Edward looked up at Maes who had a serious look on his face. "Do you think it was a Homunculus?" To /Hughes relief, Ed shook his head.

"No. Homunculi have violet eyes. Unless this is a new one, so don't count out the theory." Maes nodded and stood up, a smile coming onto his face.

"You rest up Ed. And don't worry. We'll catch this guy before you know it. I'll be back to visit soon. Take care of yourself." Ed nodded.

"Thanks for coming!" Maes nodded and walked out the door with a smile. With a sigh and a wince, Ed laid back down on the pillow, closing his eyes and falling into a deep sleep.

* * *

_Ed was breathing fast as he attempted to run away from the creature following him. Rounding a corner he saw Eastern Command and outside was Roy and Al, waving at him. Not seeing what was behind him._

_Ed signaled frantically for them to run. Go inside and hide from the creature. But they just stood there… watching._

_In a flash, Ed was on the ground the creature having knocked him over just feet from Roy and Al. With blinding speed, it destroyed Al and broke his seal and then stabbed Roy with something in its mouth. It bent down and lapped up some of Roy's blood before remembering Ed._

_Unable to move because of the terror gripping him, Ed could only watch in fear as the blood red eyes came closer… _

Ed jumped almost off the bed. He looked around the room and saw that he was completely alone, although he could see Havoc and Breda guarding his room through the window. Gently wiping the sweat from his brow, Ed lay back down on the pillow, ignoring the pain coming from the gaping hole in his stomach.

He had to remind himself that it was just a dream Al and Roy were fine. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes again, listening to the rain beating on the window and the bleeping of the machines he was connected to. Just before sleep took him, Ed could swear he could hear a roar in the distance.

* * *

_**A/N: YAY! AN UPDATE! Sorry it took so long, I kinda forgot about this story…**_

_**Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed it and I hope that some of you have guesses to what attacked Ed. I was vague when I described it though for a reason and only a few of you will understand what the creature is. If you do, review and tell me what you think!**_

_**A lot of you are going to hate me in the next few chapters if I do what I plan. Anyone care to guess about what I'll do?**_

_**GUESS WHAT! I'm now one of those teenagers that you hear about that doesn't need a car! Last week was my birthday and my parents bought me a car! I have no right to be behind the wheel of a bicycle, much less a car! So stay off the roads! JK!**_

_**I promise to try and update sooner. I actually kinda know where this story is going now!**_

_**Thanks to:**_

_**Wateria88, and Tears Of External Darkness!**_

_**You guys are amazing!**_

_**Ciao! **_

_**EdElricFan1001**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA.**

**All Was Well**

**Chapter 4**

The darkness was oddly soothing. It was warm, it was comfortable, it was pain free. In fact, Ed couldn't feel anything at all. That was pretty nice. He floated, comfortable, in his dream world, idly wondering about random facts and pretty much ignoring everything else.

_He didn't know quite where dream shifted to nightmare, but, suddenly, he was back in the alley, seeing a replay of what happened to him earlier. The hail and rain beat the back of his head and neck, his flesh leg burned from the amino acids that he knew were being pumped through his straining muscles. He could see headquarters, it was just ahead of him… he could almost reach it…_

_The feeling of being grabbed from behind pulled him back to the world. He fought against his attacker, clapping his hands and extending his automail blade from his arm, slashing feverishly behind him until he felt his blade slice though the skin of his adversary. _

_With a growl, the creature released him and he flipped around, arms in the ready position, to attack back. _

_Whatever it was was humungous. It towered at eight feet, staring down at him with cold red eyes. Eyes that burned, eyes that hungered for him, eyes that were not backing down. Keeping form gulping, Ed started backing away slowly, barely sliding his feet across the wet, slick ground. The creature snarled and moved as well, carefully staying in the shadow, but moving with him none the less. Tensing his knees, Edward prepared to run before the beast would notice; headquarters was, after all, only at the end of the alley._

_He had not even turned completely to run before the monster was in front of him. Bearing down upon him, it's rancid breath reaching his nose and gagging him. He had never smelled anything like it before. While he was retching, the being grabbed his automail arm, it's eyes smiling, and it ripped it from the socket. Ed could feel the scream rising in his throat, but he also felt something rough and almost furry cover his mouth._

_He was thrown against the wall repeatedly, he supposed this was to keep him from fighting back, before the monster separated him from his automail leg. Knowing he had no escape now, Ed let his head loll forward. What else could he possibly do? He felt as if his head was disjointed from his body. _

_Numbly, he felt something clawing sharply at his automail port on both leg and arm. Ripping and tearing them off, allowing both to flow freely with his rich, red blood. There was a sharp pain in his stomach, a sense of nausea and vertigo. Something wet and warm, quite unlike the cold rain, dripping down his side thickly. He shuddered involuntarily. So this is what it felt like to die with your body in shock form blood loss. _

_He heard a shouting voices, and then a grunt from the monstrous thing above him. He cracked an eye and saw it disappear swiftly from his view. Closing his eyes again, he felt the vibrations of someone running towards him down the alley. Heard his name, heard the gunshot, felt gentle arms picking him up, cradling him to them. _With this thought, darkness claimed him again. Something warm, pure, and good had fought off all the terror. He knew he was protected.

* * *

"Is he okay?" Winry looked down at the anxious Alphonse who knelt on the floor beside her. She gently mopped Ed's sweaty brow, thinking, before she answered carefully.

"He'll be fine. It's normal for people who have been though an attack to have nightmares. Ed's doing much better than I imagined. He's strong. He'll be fine." She knew there was no point in lying. Alphonse would figure out the truth anyway.

Al nodded and gripped Ed's hand, watching as his face screwed up more with each and every twist and turn of his dream. Slowly, his face mellowed out and his breathing slowed. Winry smiled.

"See? I told you Al, he's going to be fine. And when he wakes up, I'll get started on his new ports. Oh! I can't wait to show them to you! There's a big difference in these that are going to make the recovery process so much easier!"

She smiled and turned back to her temporary work table where she had laid out all of her needed equipment. She had made sure that the holes drilled through Ed's skin, muscle, and (finally) bone were completely open and clean the night before when she covered them with bandages and gauze to keep them as sterile as she could. She pulled out her toolbox and laid out the necessary items for the job, freshly autoclaved**(1) **and in their own individual packages.

She set the borrowed stainless steel bucket within easy reaching distance of where she would perform the operation, and went to the sink to fill the other two with steaming hot water. She carried them both back and set them on heating stations designed for that reason. In one she put nothing, in the other she put IV bags of saline**(2)**. Turning back to her table, she placed her preferred surgery pack on a side table. She then set down the sterile pack that contained her surgery gown. Next to that she put a pack of sterile, size seven, gloves. She turned back to Al.

"If you want to help at all, you need to go wash yourself really good with hot water." Alphonse nodded and stood, walking over to the industrial sized sink in Edward's room. Winry checked Ed's IV line and bag, noting that the latter was only half full, before grabbing some sterile washcloths from her prepared table and nudging Ed awake.

"What's goin' on?" He mumbled incoherently, not bothering to open his eyes. Winry bent over his face.

"We need to start soon. I was going to wake you up and give you you're pain meds so we could clean the area and start the procedure." At that, Ed's eyes fully opened and he looked up at her and nodded, sitting up slowly. Winry pulled off his sheets and turned back to Alphonse. "Can you bring me a bowl of cold water and a cloth Al?" He nodded from where he was drying his entire front on towels and turned on the cold water and stuck a nearby bowl under it before tossing away the towel and grabbing a cloth. He walked back over to the bad and set the bowl across from where Winry held her position.

Winry pulled on a pair of regular gloves and took out a syringe filled with six milliliters of a clear fluid and uncapped the needle, which was relatively small, before pushing half into Ed's IV and the other half into his upper arm. Ed barely noticed.

Winry started unwrapping the bandages she had put around the port sites days before and carefully inspecting Ed's upper torso. She ordered Al to unwrap the one's around his leg as she poured betadine**(3) **into a freshly opened pan, which she sat next to her. She grabbed the packet of new, sterile, cleaning sponges and pulled out one of the ten that occupied the package. She carefully set it in the betadine to soak and pulled out a pan of alcohol and a sterile cloth. She carefully set to cleaning Ed's upper torso, ignoring his hiss while vaguely noting in the back of her mind that the pain meds hadn't taken effect yet.

When she finished with the alcohol, she passed it and a new cloth to Al who set to cleaning his brother's leg. Winry grabbed the, now soaked, sponge and gently started scrubbing the area where the port would be installed and the area around it. Ed groaned and looked over at her.

'How long will this take? You said something yesterday about it being new?" Winry nodded, still intent on her work as she grabbed another sponge and continued cleaning.

"It'll take about five hours, much less than before, and it'll only take you about a month to recover. The part that patients normally have trouble recovering from it getting the screws put into their bones. Since you have everything done, all we have to do is attach the ports and then attach your new automail in three weeks. You should be fine after that." Ed nodded and turned back to the front as Winry finished with the fifth, and last, sponge and passed the other five sponges and remaining betadine down to Al, who took it and started cleaning as well. Winry casually flicked Edward's cheek.

"Ow! What the heck was that for?" he asked while rubbing his cheek with is good hand. Winry looked thoughtful.

"The Demerol**(4)** should be working by now, yet you still feel that. You might need more…" She trailed of as she changed her gloves and grabbed the glass bottle of Demerol and turned it upside down, pushing the tip of a new needle through it and drawing out another six milliliters before setting the bottle back down. She put half the fluids into Ed's IV line before capping the needle and sitting back down. "Tell me when you start to feel numb." She told him as she inspected his arm to make sure that scar tissue had not started to grow. Yawning, she looked over at the clock on the wall. Five-thirty. The good news was that they should be done before lunchtime if the Demerol would just kick in…

A knock came at the door and Winry blinked. She stood and walked across the room, tossing her gloves in the waste bin, before opening the door and walking out into the hallway, closing the door gently behind her. She looked up into the face of Colonel Mustang with his subordinates standing close behind him.

"Is there any way that we could see Ed this morning? Wish him good-luck?" Riza asked as she pulled the Colonel back away from the door a bit so Winry could move forward some.

"I'm sorry, but no. We've already gotten everything sterile out and administered the pain medication. It's too close to time right now. If you want, you can sit out here and Al can come give you regular updates. The entire procedure will take about five hours, maybe a bit longer." Riza nodded.

"Thank you, Winry. We'll do just that." From there, she drug the rest of Mustang's men, Mustang included, over to the waiting room and sat down before pulling out her gun and polishing materials and cleaning her gun. Winry walked back in the room and went over to Ed who nodded to her. She turned to the sink and washed her hands with hot water and betadine before having Al open her surgical robe and help her tie it. She walked over to her gloves and open them as well, sliding them on carefully without touching the outside.

She sat down on the stool next to Ed and had Al open the sterile pack without touching the inside. She also pointed out which tools she would need and had him open the individual autoclave**(1)** packs, letting the tools fall gently onto the work table.

Winry picked up the first piece of the port, a screwdriver, and a screw before pulling her mask up over her nose.

"Well, let's do this."

**

* * *

**

(1)- An autoclave is basically something that sterilizes materials (whether it be surgical or otherwise). When you autoclave something, you put them in special bags so that when a someone goes to open them for the doctor, the doctor won't have to touch the part that's been exposed to the outside and will be able to easily get the materials they need.

**(2)- The IV bags of saline that Winry puts in the hot water are used quite frequently in medical procedures. If a patient gets too cold, you replace the current bag of saline for the IV drip with the bag that's been heating in the hot water bath. It warms up the bloodstream and therefore warms the body.**

**(3)- Betadine is the brownish colored stuff that you normally see the doctors on TV wash their hands with. It's basically like rubbing alcohol, only much better and it cleans better and lasts longer. Doctors use this to clean and area that they plan to operate on, it keeps the incision area clean.**

**(4)- Demerol is just a pain killer. I didn't want to really use morphine in my story since everyone else seems to use morphine, so I chose to use Demerol since not too many people know about it.**

**

* * *

**

A/N: So, this chapter was a filler, but the dream in the beginning was, hopefully, enjoyable for most of you. It should give you a vague idea about what it was. As for all of the surgical stuff, I can guarantee that everything in the surgical scene is exactly the way it normally happens. I work at a Vet's office and I've seen how they prepare for their surgery's and I've actually had the chance to watch some surgery's done on people and this is the way an OR would most likely be set up in the FMA universe. Any questions can be PM'd or asked via review.

**I 'm really sorry about not updating in over a year, I promise that it will be earlier next time!!**

**Happy Reading!**

**EdElricFan1001**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA.**

**All Was Well **

**Chapter 5**

It hurt like hell.

Given the circumstances, it didn't hurt as much as it could have and Winry was being extra careful with the nerves that she was attaching to unfeeling steel. Regardless…

It _hurt_ like _hell_.

Ed allowed a brutal snarl slip though his teeth as his shoulder gave a twinge. He had promised himself that he wouldn't cry, nor whimper, nor scream so he had to deal with the pain in the only way he knew how… anger and fury.

"Damn it Winry!" He ground out as she attached another nerve and gave him a sympathetic look. "Damn that hurts like hellfire! How much longer?" He felt his eye twitch as he attempted to control his spastic muscles.

"I've got another few nerves on your arm. It'll take another ten minutes or so until I finish. When I get done with your arm we'll take a thirty minute break and pick back up with your leg. Just hang on a bit longer okay?" She dug around in his stump for a second before welding more flesh nerves to unforgiving wire ones. Ed grunted.

Al chose that moment to come back from the utility closet at the back of the room. "I got the blood bags you asked for Winry." He approached the opposite side of the bed so that he was facing Winry. "What would you like me to do now?" Winry glanced at him and returned to her work.

"Ed needs to be hooked to one of them. Now. He's losing some blood, but it will be more painful if I have to stop and start back again. You either need to stick him, or get someone else to."

Had he not been in so much pain, Ed would have almost laughed at the squeaks that came out of Al's armor. "I don't think I can do that Winry. What if I don't hit the vein and hurt him and have to do it again?"

"Can't hurt any worse than this Al. I probably won't even feel it." Ed grunted out as he stifled a scream that fought it's way up his throat. It was getting worse.

"No Ed. Al is right. He could hit something important. Go find the nurse Al. If you can't find, ask Mustang to look for her and get back in here. I'll need you in a minute. Don't forget to wash your hands when you come back in." Al hustled out the door and into the main infirmary. Winry gave him a considering look from her space next to him. "These walls are sound proof. If you need to scream or anything, you can do it while Al is out of the room. He won't hear you. I know this has to be painful."

"No." Ed shook his head vehemently, "I promised myself I wouldn't. Same as it was last time, he can't feel pain or anything else so I can shoulder this." Winry huffed.

"Damn man logic. If he knew about this he would be killing himself inside. Why do you think I allow him to leave the room every fifteen minutes? He wants to give you the chance to let off some steam and to maintain that stupid pride of yours. He knows you won't allow yourself to hurt while he's in here, so he leaves to give you the chance. Idiot." Ed blinked at her.

"You shouldn't. This pain is my payment. I deserve this. After what I've done to him… I deserve all of this and more." Despite his words, Edward allowed a small whimper to escape when Winry pulled harder on a stubborn nerve. "I want him to think of me as strong… someone he can rely on. I can't show weakness." Winry sighed.

"I know."

She worked in silence for a few moments until the door opened and Al slipped in, moving over to the sink. "She wasn't out there, so I had the Colonel go and find her. He said he would knock when he did."

"Shoot. I'm ready for the final steps, but I can't do that until the blood bag is attached. Ed, I'll have to wait a few minutes, this will hurt a lot more though when we go back in." A peculiar look came into Ed's eyes.

"It's fine. I've felt worse."

Winry nodded and gently began to let go of her instruments. She couldn't pull them out quite yet, that was part of the final step. Ed kept his eyes carefully pointed forward and away from his arm. He was already queasy, and he didn't think he would be able to hold himself in anymore if he saw objects sticking out where his arm should be. Thinking about it made him moan and he closed his eyes, taking deep breaths and trying to push back the bile rising in his throat.

"Edward? Are you okay?" Winry instantly was over him, noticing how his pale face had taken on a green tint. "Al! Bucket!" She said hurriedly. Al grabbed it and got it under Ed just as he vomited stomach acid. He coughed and dry heaved pitifully as his left hand reached up to hold weakly on the rim. He moaned again and leaned his head forward just as a knock came at the door. "Yes, come in." Winry called as she tucked her fingers against Ed's trachea to check his pulse.

Ed lurched and pulled the bucket back under his nose just as Mustang opened the door. "I found the nurse." He commented, trying to keep his eyes off the still heaving Edward, turning slightly green himself.

"Good, send her in and tell her to wash up for me please. Can you bring me back another bucket too please Colonel?" Mustang nodded and hustled out of the room. The friendly old nurse took his place and entered the room, immediately washing her hands and pulling on a set of gloves.

"What can I do for you dear?"

"I need to have a blood bag set up, but I've been working with his nerves, and I don't want to risk contamination."

"Of course." She picked up a needle and gently pulled Ed's hand away from the bucket, trying a tourniquet around his upper arm. She considered her options before deciding to start the new line in his unused elbow crease as he already had one in his wrist. She cleaned the area and slipped the needle in quickly, attaching the bag and hanging it up. "I'll leave it to you dear. Call if you need anything else." Winry thanked the woman and sat back down at Ed's side.

As she exited, Mustang entered the doorway, not moving any further in. "I got the bucket." He stated dumbly.

"Take the one Al has and ask the nurse where she wants it disposed, Al, get the new bucket. Ed will need it in a minute." Mustang wrinkled his nose as they exchanged buckets, exiting the room quickly.

"Time for the final part."

* * *

In hindsight, Ed realized that Winry was quite wrong indeed. This surgery hurt as bad as the first one, his arm positively on fire. At the moment, he felt rather delirious. His throat felt raw and tasted awful, so he knew he hand been sick. He had felt the cold sting as the new needle went into his arm, so he knew the new bag had been hooked up. And now he felt a fresh bucket being placed under his mouth, so he knew it was time for the final step.

He kept his eyes squeezed shut and leaned over the bucket. Winry was going to replace the nerves back into his stump. They had to be extracted all at once first, and then place back into together so that Winry could be sure she got them all. That meant she had to unclamp each nerve fully and let the signal from his brain flow down into the wires. And she had to unhook them all at once and them tuck them away one by one. This step only took about ten minutes.

To him it would feel like hours.

* * *

"Okay Al. Hold him gently. I don't want his thrashing around and hurting himself right now." Al took hold of his elder brother's left arm and put a hand on his back.

"Ready Ed?"

He gave a barely visible nod and leaned over the bucket more, already looking sick. Winry took a deep breath and began the most painful part of the procedure.

* * *

"Hey Colonel, how's the chief?" Havoc asked as Roy turned the corner to the waiting room, looking visibly paler and greener. He collapsed into a chair next to the smoking lieutenant.

"In pain. That much I'm sure of. If I ever lose a limp, I never want automail. Have to admire the kid for taking that."

"What do you mean?" Breda asked from where he pacing.

"He had all these… sharp metal tools sticking out of his arm and that mechanic girl looked like she had been half buried in that stump. He's making himself sick." Breda crinkled his nose.

"Sorry I asked."

There was suddenly a loud banging and the sound of cursing coming from Ed's room.

"I thought that room was sound proof?" Furey asked shakily as the banging continued.

"It is."

* * *

It was too much.

The pain was too much.

He couldn't describe it. It was white hot. It was biting. It was eating him alive.

Ed dry heaved into the bucket and Al rubbed his back with cold steel hands. "Only another minute Ed. Hold on." Winry called from his right. He coughed and heaved into the bucket again, his stomach curling painfully a he had nothing else to throw up. His nerves were on fire. Al shushed him and mumbled incoherent things to him, trying to sooth him he supposed.

It felt like a century, but finally the pain lessened and he was leaned back against the pillow, panting heavily and holding back whimpers.

"Al, go on out. I'll be out to give an update in a second."

He heard the door open and close and he let his body relax slightly and cracked his eyes. Winry stood directly over him, peeling off her gloves and gown. She moved with purpose as she grabbed a cold cloth and placed it gently over his eyes. "Go ahead Ed. It's okay to show some pain now, Al isn't here. I know it hurt. I'm so sorry I had to do it." He heard pain in her voice and choked on a pained sob, groaning and whimpering painfully.

"I have to hook up you nerves to this machine. Don't worry, it doesn't hurt." She told him as his body tensed. "It just keeps them from misfiring right now." He felt her moving around as he panted and sweated. A single tear slipping from his eye at the pain. After another few minutes, he felt the bed move slowly into flat position, laying him flat on his back.

She removed the cloth and freshened it in the water, using it to wash his face and neck, cooling him off. She placed it back in the bowl. "Okay. I need to talk to the Colonel. I'm sending Al back in here. If you need to get sick, let him know okay?" She exited the room with a sigh, walking to the waiting area. "Hey Al, can you go back and sit with Ed? I need to talk to Mr. Mustang and I don't want to leave your brother alone." Al jumped up and went back into the room. Winry collapsed in a seat.

"Would you like some coffee?" A kind voice asked her. She smiled at Hawkeye and nodded her head as the woman moved to the small kitchen like area in the waiting room to make her a cup.

"How's the kid?" Mustang asked from his seat across from her. The rest of his subordinates had hurried over when Winry had come out and were crowded in front of her, awaiting news.

"He's been better. It wasn't as bad as last time though, he's in pain, but he can deal with it this time." She gladly took the cup Hawkeye offered her. "That's actually what I came to talk to you about. You see, Ed won't recover well here. It's too… Hospital like. He needs somewhere homey. He won't be able to move for the next three to five weeks and I'll need a place to assist him with physical therapy. What I'm getting at is, can we relocate to your house Mr. Mustang? I'm sure Ed wouldn't feel safe anywhere else and we couldn't have moved him back to Resembool before doing the surgery. I wouldn't ask but…" She trailed off, giving the older man a hopeful look.

"Of course. When would you like to move him?" Winry relaxed, relief clear on her features.

"I'm going to sedate him right after I attach the nerves in his leg for the next part of the surgery. We can move him tomorrow after I put on the port and covers. The sedative should last that long."

"You can come with me tonight and we can get it set up. Do you have a list of what we will need? I can have it retrieved and sent ahead to my house." Winry pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to him.

"I don't suppose we can see the chief can we?" Havoc asked hopefully. Winry bit her lip.

"I don't mind, but I don't know if Ed is up to it." They deflated visibly. She offered a smile. "I can ask, but I don't know if he would want you to see him like this, he's in pretty poor shape right now." She stood and moved towards the room. "Hang tight."

Al was sitting on his knees by his brother. Ed had his eyes open and clear, talking softly with Al as Winry entered. "How are you?" She asked as she picked up the sheet and threw it over his slightly shivering form, pulling it up to his neck and covering the wrapped nerves.

"Better than I did the last time." Ed admitted as he watched her work.

"Your friends are begging to see you. They can if you don't mind. This might be the last chance you get to see them before I sedate you. And once we move you, they won't get to see you until your automail is attached."

"I don't know…"

"They are worried brother. They care about you. At least let them give their well wishes to you." Ed sighed, but nodded none the less.

"Okay, but only for a minute. I don't want them in here long."

"I'll be right back."

Winry exited and went back to the waiting room. "He said okay. But only for a minute. Get in and get out, he's in pain right now and I have to finish up." They hurried to the door, Mustang and Hawkeye following slowly behind with Winry. When they entered, all four were crowded around Ed's bed, making jokes and trying to get him to laugh, succeeding in getting a few pained chuckles out.

"How's it going Fullmetal?" Roy asked as he approached the bed and sat a gloved hand on Al's shoulder. Ed couldn't resist a smirk.

"Just peachy. I love having my nerves pulled out of my arm and attached to wires. Makes my day." Roy snorted.

"You must be fine. You're the same smart-ass kid as always." Winry giggled as the rest of the room laughed and Ed huffed. Winry watched pleasantly as Havoc and Breda re-enacted a prank they had pulled on the Colonel the other day, much to Ed's amusement and the Colonel's chagrin. Riza had quickly broken up the argument by cocking her gun. With everyone distracted, Ed caught Winry's eyes and she got the message.

"Okay everybody, out you go." She said and she pushed them from the room as Al helped Ed up. She closed the door just as he began gagging into the bucket in Al's hands.

"He looks rough." Havoc muttered.

The others had all agreed quickly with nods and sad looks at the room. Winry placed her hand on the handle and began into the room as Mustang gently grabbed her wrist.

"Why do you do it?"

Her eyes filled with pain and unshed tears of grief.

"Because he asked me to." She replied simply before slipping back through the door.

**

* * *

**

A/N: Ta-da! New chapter! I have no idea where this came from. I was re-reading and I had to write it. Sorry it took so long, and thanks to all who reviewed. I'll try to get a new chapter out soon.

**Happy Reading!  
****EdElricFan1001**


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